Although one of the reasons the Service Employee's union dropped out of the AFL-CIO and formed a new coalition was a difference over the strategy of trying to change the political framework through elected officials, it doesn't mean that the SEIU has foregone politics. Instead, they are more frequently relying on a different form of groundroot politics to try to get support for their goals from the communities or local government.

UPDATE: In a similar vein, although much closer to home, the NYT is reporting on the SEIU's drive to organize janitors in Houston, Janitors' Drive in Texas Gives Hope to Unions. According to the story the Union "used several unusual tactics in Houston, among them lining up the support of religious leaders, pension funds and the city's mayor, Bill White, a Democrat."